e THE STRATFORD MIRRO ee he a a Vol. 8 . STRATFORD, MAR. 20, 1931 No. 42 Abolishing of Municipal Income Tax Improbable The bill to abolish the municipal in- come tax met with such a storm of protest from representatives of sever- al Ontario cities in the municipal committee of the Ontario Legislature that there seems little chance of the measure getting through. Opposition to the bill was expressed by Mayor Stewart of Toronto, Mayor Peebles of Hamilton and Mayor Bezeau of Kit- chener. Brantford's protest was voic- ed by Alderman Stern. Toronto Board of Trade and Hamilton Chamber of Commerce were also represented. Stratford City Council was repre- sented by Mayor C. E. Moore and Ald. G. I. Graff, chairman of the Finance Committee. The attitude of the Strat- ford courcil is that the tax should not be abolished, but that there is plenty of room for improvement. This same feeling was expressed by sever- al representatives at the committee meeting in Toronto. At present, it is pointed out, many municipalities do not enforce the law. The result is that many who earn taxable incomes es- capes the tax entirely. One example of this was cited by Arthur Ellis of Ottawa, who introduc- ed the bill which would abolish the tax. According to the member from Ottawa, the village of Rockcliffe, ad- joining Ottawa, does not collect the municipal income tax, and yet, many of the wealthy families of Ottawa re- side in the village. Plenty of Rumors Anyway There are always rumors of some sort floating about a town or a city. Sometimes the rumors have founda- tion in fact; sometimes they are the result of some person's imagination working overtime, but in many cases, the rumor is the forerunner of a de- finite announcement regarding the subject concerned. Whether this will be the case regarding the proposed new hotel for Stratford remains to be seen. For some time there have been ru- mors of a new hotel here. They have been particularly persistent of ldte, but the local man who is promoting the project has refused to make uny statement beyond saying that he is still interesting capital for the new building. From other reliable and well informed sources, it is learned that the greater part of the capital has been subscribed and that a start on the hotel may be made this Spring. The site said to be under option at the present time is on Ontario Street on the vacant lot west of the Knox Church, now occupied by a billboard. One of the adjoining buildings is also said to be under option. A hotel built on this site, far enough back from Ontario Street, to afford a view of the Avon River and part of Stratford's park system, from most of the bed- room windows, would have one of the best locations of any hotel in the pro- vince, architects and engineers are said to have declared. Local Happenings In Briey "Sticking to the same old rut" is a term which is usually applied to some individual who is just running along and getting no place in particular. It might well be applied to car drivers on some of our streets these days. * ia * Miss Phyllis Patterson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Patterson, who is a student at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, participated in a recital at Hart House Theatre last week. a2 *. *¢ #* The proprietor of a local chicken hatchery has announced the arrival of the first batch of young chicks in the city this Spring. Two thousand eggs were set, and this is considered a small setting. Even the poor old bar- red rock hen is done out of a job by mass production. * * * Chief of Police Charles Gagen not particularly interested in the question of placing traffic lights on the main intersections here. The chief feels, that with the exception of a few hours on Saturday night, traffic does not warrant the installation of lights. * * * is rush again this Spring. Ald McDonaid chairman of the Relief Committee, will ask the council in the near future to consider the plan of again allowing needy citizens to use vacant lots in the city for gardening purposes. ae of a : 'among those present at the entertain- Stratford will have a miniature land} Cross is again making its appeal for funds with which to carry on its worthy work. No person will question the value of the work which the Red Cross is carrying on. It has received the commendation government leaders and cabinet ministers. * * * A local wholesale man has_ been quoted as saying that more chickens may be hatched this year because of the low price of eggs. That's a mighty dangerous atmosphere for the chicks, because after all, they are hatched for two purposes--one is laying eggs and the other is making chicken pies. * & x If your bread man failed to call to- day, or if you got weiners for dinner when you ordered liver, probably the explanation may lie in that hockey game which was slated for the arena last night between Ed. Tout's gang and the dough punchers from Ontario Bakeries. * * * Some people will tell you that the Scotch can never see a joke. It's too bad some of those people were not ment staged by the Ladies' Aid of Maybe The Thirteenth : Day Is The Luckiest By the time this year has dragged its way through 365 days, the old superstition about Friday the 13th. being an unlucky day should be pretty well dispelled. There will be three such so-called hoodoo days this year. Two have already passed in February and March, while the third one will be in November. Locally, Friday, March the 13th. did not bring forth any tragedies. In- stead, it seemed to bring good luck. For instance, John Sinclair, 117 Nile Street, completed thirty-one years' of faithful service in the boiler depart- ment of the C. N. R. Shops here, re- tired to a well earned pension on that day. For the Public Utilities Commis- sion, the 13th. power bill, which was mailed by the Ontario Commission on that day, brought the pleasant infor- mation to the local commission, that _ a refund of more than $17,000 was be- > ing made on last year's power ac- count. Friday has long been considered a jinx day in itself, yet here are some" of the good things which have hap- pened on that day: Columbus set _ sail, sighted land, started back to Spain, and returning, Knox Presbyterian Church last week. The speaker of the evening, by the way, was Phineas McIntosh, of Toron- to, who is a favorite with Stratford audiences. ; * * * As far as is known, there has been The Stratford Branch of the Red/|no rush on the part of the fair sex in i EYES and HEAL Here are a few danger signals that fre- quently indicate defective eyesight: Squinting or frowning Holding books too close to eyes when reading Excessive tiredness and fre- quent headaches Dizziness and nervousness Don't handicap yourself Through life with poor vision. Have your eyes exam- ined every year. Phone 584 for appointment. PEQUEGNAT'S EELS ELE, Optical Parlors REIL EL, Est. 1885 SORES GGL ELIE EEE, SELES LOE LOE LT OED ITE, ES SE 2 eee discovered the mainland--all on Fri- days; John Cabot started his journey of discovery; the Mayflower reached. land; the first emigrants reached the ee Plymouth » Rock; the aeroplane Bre- men flew the Atlantic; Shakespeare, Napoleon, Bismarck, Disraeli and. Washington were born. --_--_--_--_--_------ this district to accept the generous" ue E;. offer of Francis X. Bushman, former | --, movie star, who has offered to marry any woman who will support him in the manner to which he has become aeeustomed, Ks * * * A communication from the butchers -- who do business at the market shel~ -- ter, asking that a reduction of 25 per -- cent. in the cost of tables at the shel- ter be made, was filed by the Fire -- 43 Hall, City Hall, Cemetery and Market Committeee at the regular meeting last week. * * * Mr. and Mrs. Herbie Bruder enter- tained the players and members of the executive of the Stratford Indians at a chicken dinner last week. During the course of the evening, Herbie was presented with a silver cup by the © members of the team, as 2 token of © the esteem in which he is held as the -- manager and as a friend of the boys. +P * * * ci After motoring some 2,500 miles, a Spokane, Wash., resident, was forced to store his car in Stratford and pro- -- ceed to Listowel by train on Saturday. The visitor, A. M. Holt, was "on the way to his father's home in the north- ern town. ~*~ acm re ; ao THE BEST IN Sms f . FRIDAY and SATURDAY | CHARLES BICKFORD in " River's End" He got his man and the other man's woman! # MONDAY -- TUESDAY GRETA GARBO in '1, : rr) Inspiration The fiaming love story _ of a woman with a past. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY | Ann Harding--Clive Brook _ "East Lynne" | TALKING PICTURES A vibrant drama of | love and motherhood : ats igh ioe nee, eee, ee